1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a windshield wiper and cleaning assembly which allows washing of a windshield with little pollution of the environment by the washing fluid. The fluid is preferably filtered and recycled.
2. Prior Art
Commonly used vehicle windshield wipers are simple wiper blades designed principally for keeping the windshield free of rain drops. These wiper blades can also be used for washing the windshield by the use of a device which sprays washing fluid onto the areas of the windshield close to the blades which are then operated to clean the windshield. The contaminated fluid, which contains chemicals including anti-freeze, passes from the windshield into the environment where it pollutes ground water, eventually passing into rivers and oceans. It is an object of the invention to reduce such pollution by retaining much or all of the contaminated washing fluid within the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the fluid is filtered and reused for further washing; this reduces the need to continually buy fluid.
The invention makes use of a wiper which is provided with its own supply of washing fluid. Such a wiper is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,627, which issued Mar. 8, 1994 to Liou; however the wiper described in this prior patent merely sprays the fluid onto the windshield and does not deal with the environmental problem.
In accordance with this invention, a windshield wiper assembly for washing a windshield while supplying washing fluid thereto comprises the usual motor-driven reciprocating arm which carries a special wiper member which is in the form of an elongated hollow body having a fluid passage therein extending from an inlet to an outlet. The body has an inner side for contacting a windshield, and this inner side is open to the fluid passage so that fluid within the passage can contact the windshield, the inner side being surrounded by peripheral wiper blades which restrict flow of fluid beyond the blades. A supply conduit leads from a supply of washing fluid to the inlet of the hollow body, and an outlet conduit leads from the hollow body and is connected to a reservoir for receiving contaminated fluid.
with this arrangement, washing fluid which has been pumped into the hollow body through the inlet conduit and has served to clean the windshield can pass through the outlet conduit back to the reservoir, and little or none of this fluid passes into the environment.
In addition to the usual pump for supplying the fluid, the assembly may further comprise a vacuum pump connected to extract the contaminated fluid from the hollow body through the outlet conduit. Preferably, the assembly includes a filter which is part of the reservoir, and the vacuum pump is effective for drawing contaminated fluid from the outlet conduit and assists in passing the fluid through the filter.
The hollow body passage may include both an inlet passage portion connected to the inlet conduit, and an outlet passage portion connected to the outlet conduit, and preferably both of these passage portions are on the inner open side of the hollow body so as to be in contact with the windshield. The fluid passage portions are separated by a further, intermediate wiper blade.
In one arrangement, the passages in the hollow body include inlet and outlet passages connected to opposite ends of an intermediate passage which is also on the open side of the body, and the inlet and outlet conduits are both connected to a central part of the body, this central part being also connected to the reciprocating arm.
In another arrangement, the inlet and outlet conduits are both connected to a common, inner end of the hollow body, and this end is also connected to the reciprocating arm.